Focal Passage:
“And Moses said to the Lord: “Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are among these people; that You, Lord, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.’ And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’ Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.””
Numbers 14:13-19
Again, Moses finds that he must intercede with God for a wayward people. Are you seeing a pattern here? Are you seeing the necessity for a shepherd among the people, for someone to stand in the gap between God and the people and pray for their salvation? Little has changed. Back then it was Moses. Today, Jesus is the shepherd and it is His church that must stand in the gap. When was the last time you prayed for the lost? When was the last time you prayed for a world on the brink of God’s wrath?
Matthew Henry cites this aspect of Moses’ prayer; “Moses made humble intercession for Israel. Herein he was a type of Christ, who prayed for those that despitefully used him. The pardon of a nation’s sin is the turning away the nation’s punishment.” Pray for Israel, and pray for America this Fourth of July. Your prayers can have a much greater effect than your fireworks.
Castaways Point 